


The Vows of Demons

by HarkaSun



Series: 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge [12]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Asmodeus Will Kill You, Asmodeus and Lilith Share One Good Trait, Demons Caring About Their Children, Demons Talk Like Victorians, Don't Hurt Magnus Bane, Even Demons Know About Malec, Gap Filler, Gen, Protective Asmodeus (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Season/Series 03, Threats of War, edom, i don't make the rules
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25447450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarkaSun/pseuds/HarkaSun
Summary: Lilith receives a visitor during a brief return to Edom. Asmodeus comes to warn her away from harming his son.
Series: 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696138
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	The Vows of Demons

**Author's Note:**

> For @permetstu and @izzymalec's 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge on Tumblr
> 
> Week 16: Favourite Villain  
> ↳ Lilith and/or Asmodeus  
> (AKA my first—and probably last—non-malec fic

The fires of Edom burn endlessly.

Any creature with the misfortune of living there is demonic by blood and behaviour. The edomai fight and kill one another simply because they are designed for death. Lilith watches them sometimes from the now unused tower of her keep. She watches them now.

Her time in Edom will be brief. Her troubles on Earth are not yet solved. There is still much to do, but her Owl will serve her plans well until her return to the earthly plane. It is only her concerns for her status that bring her back now. There are other greater demons who would thirst for her power in Edom, and her presence is the only thing that will keep them at bay.

Even a brief trip such as this one is sufficient enough. Her power can be felt throughout the realm. The demons know her. As long as she keeps a strong presence, they will continue their fear of her.

Another presence closes in, however, and Lilith frowns her disapproval as she glances over her shoulder. There is someone in her castle.

“Do not presume you can linger in the shadows,” she says, not caring to raise her voice. “I know you’re there.”

There is a moment of stillness, a few seconds of uncertain silence, before a man slinks his way into the room. A cane taps the floor as he approaches, the demon relying heavily upon it to walk; she had always secretly wondered why that is. Golden cat’s eyes flicker in the firelight.

“Asmodeus,” says Lilith in a simple acknowledgement of his presence.

“I hear the strangest rumours here,” Asmodeus says, his voice smooth and careless, as if he hadn’t just waltzed into the Queen’s castle uninvited. Though she didn’t plan of ever expressing it, she felt a spark of admiration for his bravado. “The edomai are restless. It seems you’ve been creating some trouble on Earth… In New York.”

Lilith curls her lip. “Why does it matter to you what squalid corner I choose to carry out my plans?”

Asmodeus lifts his head, tilts it a little. “The edomai whisper many things. They say you meddle with nephilim. I know that, whatever you’re doing on earth, you do it for your son… I have a son too. One who may yet oppose your plans… I would thank you not to harm him.”

Lilith doesn’t try to hold in a laugh, high and surprised and causing her head to throw back with the sheer force of it. The greater demon before her remains unamused, however. She controls her laughter, yet still holds the amusement in a smile as she shakes her head in disbelief.

“Oh, Asmodeus…” she croons. “I didn’t take you for one who cares for his family. This boy of yours… why would he oppose me?”

“He is burdened with empathy,” says Asmodeus, a brief hint of disgust sparking his eyes, “and he holds a love for one of the nephilim. That is the price of creating a half-breed with a mortal… But he is mine.” His head lifts a little higher, almost challenging. “You don’t seem to grasp my meaning, so I will speak plainly… If you kill my son, I will wage war upon you.”

Lilith blinks slowly. It isn’t often that she receives a threat from anyone, let alone someone who may actually pose a danger of following through on it. “I understand,” she says. “You have my word, although I’m unsure how much that means to you. I am not exactly known for my binding oaths, but I won’t harm your son.”

“I’m grateful.”

Lilith hums, regards him a moment before she returns her absent gaze to watch over her kingdom. Desolate and barren as it is, Edom is hers. “As long as he doesn’t harm mine.”

Demons though they are, and despite the humans and the nephilim dubbing them as monsters, they are capable of more than mindless cruelty. They are parents, and ones who will go to great lengths to ensure their children’s safety. To those who threaten that safety, they will see that demons can live up to their monstrosity.

They will raise hell to defend their own, and every living creature will feel the flames of their wrath.

**Author's Note:**

> Link to tumblr post of this fic: https://harkasun.tumblr.com/post/624360897318617088/the-vows-of-demons


End file.
